SALES of classic toys are proving a money spinner for an auction house based in the North-East.

Vectis, which operates from Thornaby on Teesside, had its best year ever last year, with more than £6m-worth of sales in the UK and US.

Millions of toys were sold at auctions in those two countries, as well as on the Internet.

Vectis chairman Bryan Goodall said: "We took £6m in this country and $600,000 dollars in the United States.

"It was the best year that we have ever had and there is no sign that the toy market is slowing down.

"The collecting of toys, be they diecast or tinplate, trains or dolls, is extremely buoyant and is likely to remain so.

"We saw more people buying as an investment for the future.

"Investing in toys has seen a better return than investing in a traditional pension plan."

Selling on the Internet, Vectis dealt with collectors in more than 35 countries in the run-up to Christmas.

The company's hot tips for big sellers this year are plastic toys from the 1960s and 1970s, including Action Man, early Lego, and Subutteo because of the continuing popularity of football.